Dispenser bottle holding assembly

ABSTRACT

A dispenser bottle holding assembly, comprises a bottle holder comprising a base portion having walls and interior compartment adapted to receive and hold a dispenser bottle, said bottle holder having a top portion adapted to move vertically with respect to said base portion, and for contacting and operating a top of a dispenser bottle to dispense fluid, wherein the said base portion has a removable fitting ring having a defined size and shape for engaging the bottom of the dispenser bottle, and a clamping assembly removably attached to one of the bottle holder walls for enabling removable attachment of the dispenser bottle holding assembly to an object.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a dispenser for dispensing sanitizerfluid such as hand sanitizer or soap, and more particularly to adispenser assembly for receiving and accommodating a wide variety ofdifferent size and shape push pump soap bottles, and having mounts formounting the assembly in a variety of different mounting locations andconfigurations, or for use as a stand-alone countertop unit.

Push pump soap bottles and sanitizer bottles are used in a variety ofcommercial and domestic locations, such as healthcare facilities, foodestablishments, factories, kitchens, bathrooms, etc., for cleansing andsanitizing users' hands and face.

There are a number of different push pump soap bottles and/or push pumpsanitizer bottles available on the market today. Some distributors arePurell, Ecolab, Sterillium, Steris and Gojo, to name a few. The bottlesare not uniform or standard in size, shape or capacity. Also, thebottles are merely dispenser bottles and do not have the capability tomonitor dispensing events, or be located or mounted at locations otherthan on a table or countertop.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a dispenser bottle holding assembly forreceiving and accommodating a variety of differently sized and shapedpush pump soap and sanitizer bottles, and for mounting the assembly on avariety of different mounting locations and configurations, or for useas a stand-alone countertop unit, or to mount to a wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a right front perspective view of a dispenser bottleholding assembly according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows the same view as FIG. 1, but with a cover removed and aclamping assembly attached to the rear;

FIG. 3 shows a left front perspective view of a dispenser bottle holdingassembly according to the invention, with the battery cover removed;

FIG. 4 shows a front elevational view of a dispenser bottle holdingassembly according to the invention;

FIG. 5 shows a side elevational view, in cross-section, of a dispenserbottle holding assembly according to the invention;

FIG. 6 shows a bottom view of a dispenser bottle holding assemblyaccording to the invention;

FIG. 7 shows a right side elevational view of a dispenser bottle holdingassembly according to the invention;

FIG. 8 shows a left side elevational view of a dispenser bottle holdingassembly according to the invention;

FIG. 9 shows a rear perspective view of a dispenser bottle holdingassembly according to the invention;

FIG. 10 shoes a bottom rear/back perspective view of a dispenser bottleholding assembly according to the invention, with a clamping assemblyattached to the rear; and

FIG. 11 shows a rear/back perspective view of a dispenser bottle holdingassembly according to the invention, with a clamping assembly attachedto the bottom.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention will be described with reference to a specificexemplary embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited tothis embodiment.

As used herein, unless indicated otherwise, the terms “soap”,“sanitizer” and the like are used interchangeably and refer to anysubstance in any phase or form, including without limitation any gel,foam, or any combination thereof, for hygienic cleansing or sanitizing auser's hands or face.

The FIGS. 1-11 show a dispenser bottle holding assembly according to theinvention. The assembly comprises a bottle holder 1 having a printedcircuit board (PCB) cover 2, and a battery cover 3. The bottle holderhas a generally hollow interior for receiving a dispenser bottle. Insidethe holder 1 is a reducing ring 4 which is removable using spring lugs 4a extending through holes in the floor of the bottle holder. Thereducing ring 4 is inserted for smaller diameter bottles and can beremoved for larger diameter bottles. A plurality of different sizedand/or shaped reducing rings may be provided for receiving and holdingdifferent sized/shaped bottles. Specific reducing rings may besized/shaped for different specific bottles for those of the variousmanufacturers.

The bottle holder 1 is adapted to be removably attached to a back plate5 having a vertical back wall and a horizontal bottom base plate. Theattachment may be made with screws or the like.

A switch pod cover 6 is removably attached to the top of a pair ofswitch pod sliders 7 which are adapted to slide in vertical channels orgrooves in the interior of the bottle holder 1. After a bottle isinserted into the interior of the holder 1, the switch pod cover 6 withsliders 7 is slid down until it reaches the top of the actuator of thebottle (not shown), with the top of the bottle actuator nestled into therecess of switch pod activation plate 8 in the front. This switch podcover assembly 6 can be seen in FIG. 5. In the interior are four posts 8a which extend upward from switch pod activation plate 8 and areencircled by respective conical springs 9. When the dispenser bottle isinserted and a user pushes down on the switch pod cover 6, the dispenserbottle will dispense a quantity of soap. That dispensing operation willalso cause a switch 10 a in monitoring switchboard assembling 10 toclose, thereby detecting a dispense operation. The information from adispense operation, especially combined with the identity of the userobtaining the soap, is useful in monitoring compliance with sanitizationprotocols.

Also shown in FIG. 5 is a clamping assembly attached to the back plate5. The attachment can be made with four screws. The clamping assemblycomprises a clamp base 11, a pair of opposed gripper pads 12, 18, arelease button 13, a mount plate 14, a slide jaw 15, a knob 16 and apressure plate 17. The opposed gripper pads 12, 18 are adapted to attachto a pole or side of a bed board, table or cart, by turning knob 16which causes the pads to come toward each other and grip the pole or thelike. The pole may be a part of any device used in healthcarefacilities, food establishments or other facilities, on which thedispenser bottle holding assembly pole on which it is mounted,depression of the release button will cause the gripper pads to be ableto spread apart, to disengage the dispenser bottle holding assembly fromthe pole.

FIG. 5 shows the mount plate 14 attached to the back plate 5 in oneorientation so that the release button is near the bottom of the backplate. However, the mount plate 14 can be oriented in any one of fourdifferent orientations so that the release button is (1) near thebottom, (2) up, (3) on the right side or (4) on the left side. Thisenables the clamping assembly to be mounted on poles which are verticalas well as on horizontal rods or the like.

FIG. 11 shows the mount plate 5 of the clamping assembly mounted on thebottom of the bottle holder 1. In the position and orientation shown inFIG. 11, the bottle holder 1 can be mounted to a horizontal rod, such asthe top horizontal rod of a bed or the like. The clamping assembly canbe oriented in any one of four different orientations on the bottom ofthe bottle holder 1, in a similar manner to the four availableorientations on the back plates.

FIG. 3 shows the bottle holder 1 with the battery cover removed showinga battery bay with two batteries inside. The batteries provide power forthe dispenser beacon assembly 19 shown in FIG. 2. The dispenser beaconassembly can wirelessly communicate with a badge or other item worn orcarried by a user, in order to determine the identity of the badgewearer. The dispenser beacon assembly 19 can send a sanitary eventsignal back to the badge to tell the badge that the user has completed asanitization event. The dispenser beacon assembly 19 can also store asanitary event signal, date and time stamped. The records of thesanitization events and associated users who have obtained sanitizationcan be stored, transmitted wirelessly or otherwise to a monitoringstation, or the badge. The badge may change states indicating level ofsanitary compliance with the user, and the badge status may be visual(lights with colors, eg.) or audio (beeping, eg.) to inform others whoare approached by the badge user.

Further details on how a dispenser and badge may be used may be found inU.S. Ser. No. 13/215,823 filed Aug. 23, 2011, which is incorporated byreference herein.

The dispenser bottle holding assembly may also function on a countertopif no clamping assembly is mounted on the bottom, even if a clampingassembly is mounted on the rear. The dispenser bottle holding assemblymay also be mounted to a vertical wall or the like without any clampingassembly on the rear, even if a clamping assembly is mounted on thebottom.

The dispenser bottle holding assembly thus provides a very versatileunit with a small number of parts.

While one embodiment has been described, the invention is not limited tothis embodiment, and changes and modifications may be made as may occurto those skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is defined onlyby way of the dependent claims.

1. A dispenser bottle holding assembly, comprising: a bottle holdercomprising a base portion having walls and interior compartment adaptedto receive and hold a dispenser bottle, said bottle holder having a topportion adapted to move vertically with respect to said base portion,and for contacting and operating a top of a dispenser bottle to dispensefluid; said base portion having a removable fitting ring having adefined size and shape for engaging the bottom of the dispenser bottle.2. The dispenser bottle holding assembly of claim 1, further comprisinga plurality of differently sized removable fitting rings for differentsized dispenser bottles.
 3. The dispenser bottle holding assembly ofclaim 1, including a removable clamping assembly on a back wall of thebase portion.
 4. The dispenser bottle holding assembly of claim 3wherein the back wall of the base portion has a mounting arrangement forenabling removable attachment of the clamping assembly in any one of aplurality of different orientations.
 5. The dispenser bottle holdingassembly of claim 1 including a removable clamping assembly on a bottomsurface of the base portion.
 6. The dispenser bottle holding assembly ofclaim 5, wherein the bottom surface of the base portion has a mountingarrangement for enabling removable attachment of the clamping assemblyin one of a plurality of different orientations.
 7. The dispenser bottleholding assembly of claim 1, further including a switch which sensescontacting and operation of the top of a dispenser bottle to detect adispensing of fluid.
 8. The dispenser bottle holding assembly of claim1, further including a communication circuit for wirelessly detectingthe identity of a user operating the dispenser bottle to dispense fluid.9. The dispenser bottle holding assembly of claim 1, wherein thecommunication circuit stores information on the time of a dispensingevent and the identity of the user.
 10. A dispenser bottle holdingassembly, comprising: a bottle holder comprising a base portion havingwalls and defining an interior compartment adapted to receive and hold adispenser bottle, said bottle holder having a top portion, and forcontacting and operating a top of a dispenser bottle to dispense fluid;and a clamping assembly removably attached to one of the bottle holderwalls for enabling removable attachment of the dispenser bottle holdingassembly to an object.
 11. The dispenser bottle holding assembly ofclaim 10, wherein the clamping assembly is removably attached to a backwall of the base portion.
 12. The dispenser bottle holding assembly ofclaim 11, wherein the back wall of the bottle holder has a mountingarrangement for enabling removable attachment of the clamping in any oneof a plurality of different orientations.
 13. The dispenser bottleholding assembly of claim 10, wherein the clamping assembly is removablyattached to a bottom wall of the base portion.
 14. The dispenser bottleholding assembly of claim 13, wherein the bottom wall of the bottleholder has a mounting arrangement for enabling removable attachment ofthe clamping assembly in any one of a plurality of differentorientations.
 15. The dispenser bottle holding assembly of claim 10,further including a removable fitting ring in the base portion having adefined size and shape for engaging the bottom of a dispenser bottle.16. The dispenser bottle holding assembly of claim 1, further comprisinga plurality of differently sized removable fitting rings for differentsized dispenser bottles.
 17. A dispenser bottle holding assembly,comprising: a bottle holder comprising a base portion having walls andinterior compartment adapted to receive and hold a dispenser bottle,said bottle holder having a top portion adapted to move vertically withrespect to said base portion, and for contacting and operating a top ofa dispenser bottle to dispense fluid; said base portion having aremovable fitting ring having a defined size and shape for engaging thebottom of the dispenser bottle; and a clamping assembly removablyattached to one of the bottle holder walls for enabling removableattachment of the dispenser bottle holding assembly to an object.